


The Last Train to Crushville (And I'll Meet You at the Station)

by CBlue



Series: The Coffee Shop Trope Verse [2]
Category: We Are In Fics Universe (WAIFU)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bus Ride, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Cee Uses Her Words (and her phone), F/M, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-27
Updated: 2018-10-27
Packaged: 2019-08-08 04:38:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16422554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CBlue/pseuds/CBlue
Summary: It's great when Cee and Tyler are picking on Pali for her crush, but when Pali (and Pali's new boyfriend) tag team with Tyler to turn the tables on Cee....well, that's a whole different ball game.





	The Last Train to Crushville (And I'll Meet You at the Station)

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, okay? Tom Holland. Now you know.

Cee sighed as she sat heavily in one of the hard bus chairs. Her soaking wet hair clung to her red cheeks as she wiped the left over rain from her brow. Collecting her things, Cee organized herself somewhat, sitting more comfortably in the chair desire the chill seeping into her bones. Cee rested her forehead against the window with a soft groan.

The pitter patter of the rain felt like a steady rhythm that promised to lull Cee to sleep, but she leaned away from the temptation. She needed to be awake. She still had work to do at home, and she couldn't be dead on her feet for it. So despite the overcast of the sky, Cee tried to keep a sunnier disposition as the bus moved forward.

Pulling out her cellphone, Cee tapped the device to unlock it. Her young cat stared lazily at her before she swiped down her notifications. Tyler had texted her, and Pali too apparently. She smiled to herself as she pulled up the most recent one. Tyler's message of getting home safe in the rain was nice. It kept the rain from feeling as cold knowing someone close was worried about her. As it was, her parents and brothers were states away. It echoed their distance knowing they weren't just a phone call away.

Cee shook herself of the thoughts and responded with similar sentiments. She thumbed down to see Pali's message. It was almost a mirror of Tyler's own with the addition of her showing Nick and her at the coffee shop. That made Cee grin brightly. Pali had seemed almost ethereal in her glow now that her and Nick had stopped dancing around each other and were dancing with each other. Cee would never let Pali live it down now that she knew Nick didn't even like coffee. The slow building romance was almost like something out of a novel. Cee was sure high school Pali would have gotten a laugh out of that. She snorted.

"Something funny?"

With wide eyes, Cee looked up to face the gorgeous smile that stole her breath more than the cold ever could. The Bus Boy, so dubbed by Tyler and Pali after Cee had mentioned him once, blinked curiously but kindly. His teeth played with his bottom lip. "Could I sit there?" He gestured to the seat next to Cee.

"Yeah!" Cee flushed at her own enthusiasm. "Of course." She chuckled nervously to remedy it.

Bus Boy, who she knew was named Tom from their short conversations on the bus almost everyday, smiled brilliantly and took the seat. He moved his bag out of the walk way before facing Cee again. "So, what was so funny?"

Coming back to herself, Cee chuckled again. "Oh, it's just my friend. She finally got with this guy she's been pining after for a while." Cee ignored the boil of jealousy as her stomach cooked on the words. She had no one to blame but herself for not even trying, but...well, honestly, Tom was so far out of her league, they weren't even playing the same sport.

"That's great for her." Tom said genuinely. "I'm glad they seemed to work it out." He fiddled with his hands for a moment before pulling out his own phone and showing Cee the daily picture of his dog that she always got. She traded it for a picture of Gatita.

"Us too." Cee said, resuming the earlier conversation. "He's super nice and makes her happy." She said softly, with a private smile. "She deserves happy."

Tom looked at Cee curiously. It was less a curious manner, and more like a look Cee couldn't quite place. Whatever it was, it settled on fondness as Tom chuckled lightly. "Well, you do too." He whispered. "I hope you feel as happy as that." His earnest tone makes Cee's heart melt.

"Yeah?" She smiled shyly. "You too, Tom." 

His cheeks flushed somewhat, but Cee had no clue as to why. Perhaps he knew of her long time crush and was embarrassed by her sentiment. Tom gave a soft smile and ducked his head. "Thank you."

Beaming, Cee nodded. "You're welcome." She said confidently. "Now, how's the day been?"

The two continued like that, making idle conversation the entire way. The rain slowly stopped it's horrendous assault against the bus window and mellowed into a gentle lullaby luring the city to sleep. Cee could stay like this forever with smiles like warm cocoa and words like blankets on a winter's evening. The day's tensions left her almost completely as she continued to converse with Tom. She could see the easing of his own shoulders too. Inch by inch, his stance reflected hers until they were sitting closer than what should be considered appropriate of two more-aquaintences-than-friends. It was always so easy talking to Tom. It was the most natural thing in the world. Sometimes Cee wondered if that was normal. If feeling so closely connected to someone you saw only once a day was so normal.

But then again, it was once a day. She saw Tom for the two hour ride once a day for a whole work week. That was more time than she could see her mother anymore, and her mother would always be her closest friend. Maybe the closeness, the familiarness of it, endeared Cee to Tom so quickly, and he to her. Either way, she was certain they were friends of some sort at least....just not friends who contacted each other outside of their bus ride, despite having each other's phone numbers.

Cee could recall the one and only text conversation the two had had. It was about a new movie coming out and wether it would be worth it to have seen it then or later. Cee had been right, of course, to see it later. Tom had agreed, but instead of the two going together like Cee had hoped, Tom had made other plans to see it with some of his friends. Some of his actual friends, Cee thought bitterly.

Again, she could blame no one but herself for all of this, and she knew it. She didn't know how to fix it, though, so she would just leave it as it was. No use fixing something if it wasn't broken was the motto. She smiled politely as the bus started to pull to her stop. Cee began collecting her things, mentally counting them as she did.

"Guess that's my stop." Cee chuckled lightly as she finished packing her things. She gave a soft smile to Tom. "Same time tomorrow?" Cee tucked some of her red hair behind her ear, fiddling with her cheek in between her teeth.

Tom nodded, grinning. "Of course." He quipped. "I couldn't find a better bus ride elsewhere."

Laughing and tucking her hair away from her face again, Cee ducked her face to hide her flushed cheeks and pleased smile. "Well, see ya tomorrow then." She gave a smile wave before carefully walking to the bus door. She spared one last glance to Tom before jumping off the bus step and stepping onto the side walk. Cee gave a gentle wave to the bus driver, who returned it half heartedly, before turning to make her way home.

Thankfully, the rain had completely stopped. No longer could Cee hear the pitter patter of the rain. Instead, its remnants hung in the air like an old memory or a dead loved one clinging to this life. Cee took each step with heavy thought as she mentally went through her to do list. She was pulled away from her listing at the sound of her name.

"Cee!"

Cee turned back, watching as Tom ran towards her, hand waving and obviously trying to flag her down. She raised a curious eyebrow at his breathless state. "What is it?" She worried. "Is everything okay?"

Tom nodded. "You left your phone." He held out the device with a flush to his cheeks.

Curious and grateful, Cee took her phone from Tom's hand gently. "Thank you." She smiled genuinely. "I can't believe I left it." Cee said with a breathless laugh.

Grinning nervously, Tom chuckled. "Yeah." His ears flushed red. "Can't believe you left it." He flashed his pearly white teeth, almost as if to distract from his red face.

Cee's eyebrows rose as she tried to puzzle what was different, or what had changed. She looked to her phone, tapping at it. On screen, it showed two messages. One addressed from Pali, speaking of her date. The other was from Tyler. In blatant bold letters that burned into Cee's heart a feeling of dread, she read the question that she had asked herself every night since first meeting Tom.

"So are you going to ask Tom out or what??"

With a face that burned to the degree of her rapid beating heart, Cee slowly looked up to Tom's face. It seemed almost jittery, yet alive in a way Cee hadn't seen it before. She watched with a sense of trepidation as Tom cleared his throat, rocking on the balls of his feet.

"So..." Tom began, "...are you?"

Blinking slowly and then rapidly, Cee gaped. "Huh?" was her startled response.

Tom's demeanor of jittery nervousness was some how eased, or maybe even appeased, at Cee's own nervousness and confusion. He chuckled and ducked his head, muttering something Cee didn't quite catch. He beamed as he looked back to her fully. "Are you going to ask me out?" Tom breathed the question, and Cee felt like he had just preferred some sort of CPR, filling her lungs with his own exhale. She breathed it deeply with eyes wide and mouth slightly agape in shock. So flustered was she that she didn't respond for a moment.

"I..." she stuttered, "I mean I..." She fumbled with her hands, gesturing for every word she wanted to speak but couldn't find.

"I'd say yes." Tom rushed, almost stumbling forward with his rocking as if he were throwing the words at Cee. "If you asked." He finished with a soft voice pinned with a sweet smile.

Cee's heart fluttered in her chest. The beating of its wings nearly knocked the wind out of her as she inhaled a shaking breath. "Well..." she began with an exhaled chuckle, "I guess I should probably ask you then." Cee smiled shyly, ducking her head and allowing her hair to remain in front of her face this time.

Tom reached forward gently and tucked her short locks behind her ear gently. "Yeah." His earnest smile and tender eyes drew Cee closer like an enchanting melody. "You probably should." His smile turned cheeky and teasing. It was light and carefree and everything Cee knew Tom to be. It made her next words all the more easier.

"Will you go out with me?"


End file.
